Interim athletic director James Norris said the decision announced Wednesday was reached after discussions with university president Lois DeFleur and vice president James Van Voorst.

The move comes after Friday's announcement that Broadus admitted having contact with prospective recruits that violated NCAA regulations.

Assistant coach Mark Macon will take over in the interim.

"There have been continuing incidents of concern related to the men's basketball program that do not measure up to the university's high standards," Norris said in a statement. "I have every confidence in his [Macon's] ability to provide strong leadership to the team."

DeFleur called for an audit of the entire athletic program after the releases last month of star basketball player Emanuel "Tiki" Mayben, who's facing drug charges, and five of his teammates.

Retired New York Chief Judge Judith Kaye will lead the independent review and investigation. It will be overseen by the executive committee of the SUNY board of trustees.

Mayben was arrested last month in Troy, N.Y. A sealed indictment charged Mayben with selling cocaine twice on June 29, and police said they found 3.4 grams of cocaine on him when he was arrested. He has pleaded not guilty.

Broadus signed a contract extension in June through the 2013-2014 season, on the heels of a season that featured the team's first-ever conference championship and NCAA tournament berth.

The Bearcats went 23-9 last season and won the America East regular-season and tournament titles. They were 13-3 in league play and won a school-record 11 straight games before losing to Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The 40-year-old Macon, a native of Saginaw, Mich., played college ball at Temple alongside Aaron McKie and Eddie Jones and was selected by the Denver Nuggets as the eighth pick on the first round of the 1991 NBA draft.

Macon played for the Nuggets and Detroit Pistons in six NBA seasons and also played overseas for several teams. In 2001 he took a job in Philadelphia as sports program director for a local YMCA and two years later returned to Temple as an assistant.

After John Chaney announced his retirement in 2006, Macon moved to Georgia State but was let go after one year when the school hired a new athletic director. Broadus offered Macon a job at Binghamton two years ago.